The Birali Steiner School Community are preparing to move in November to the new site on the corner of Beachmere Road and Newman Road after more than 5 years in the Beachmere Community Hall. Locals would have noticed the extensive upgrade on Beachmere Road and the hive of activity on Newman Road.
Chris Jack, Principal, has seen the school grow from 8 students to a school bursting at the seams. People are moving interstate to enrol their children and more locals are taking advantage of this alternative educational approach on their doorstep. This is part of growing demand for Steiner education in Queensland: Steiner Schools at Samford (Brisbane) and Noosa are full, with waiting lists. Initiatives for Steiner Schools in inner Brisbane, Caloundra, Toowoomba and Gympie are underway.
As part of this trend, Birali is growing quickly, and three more classrooms are expected to be built in 2019. The school has received accreditation through to Class 10 and has applied for Pre-prep for the beginning of 2019. The vision has always been to provide an education for the head, heart and hands through to Class 12.
There is a growing worldwide demand for this form of education. There are over 1000 schools and almost 2000 kindergartens in over 60 countries, with 47 schools in Australia. Steiner Schools are increasingly seen as an education for the future and are growing in reputation for developing well balanced, creative, collaborative, confident students.
Birali is a member of Steiner Education Australia: https://www.steinereducation.edu.au, the peak body for Steiner Schools in Australia (SEA). In a recent independent national research survey conducted for SEA, this reputation was confirmed. 85% of parents agreed that Steiner education developed the whole child. 98.1% of parents surveyed valued the arts-based approach to learning, which promotes confidence, creative thinking and love of learning. Year 9-12 students were surveyed and 77% were very happy and fulfilled at school; 88% of students believed that, ‘teachers know me’. These are solid indicators of a high level of well-being, which in turn is correlated with strong academic and general life outcomes. A resounding 95% of alumni surveyed agreed that attending a Steiner school had been an asset to their lives and 89% agreed that, ‘what I learnt is highly appropriate to later life’.
The best way to find out more about Steiner education is to attend a Birali School tour: https://www.biralisteiner.qld.edu.au or phone 54290511.
In the tour, you will see and find out more about some of the distinguishing features of Steiner Schools. These include the balance between academic, artistic and practical work. In the Early Childhood curriculum, self-directed free play, cooking, puppet plays, stories, art and craft foster the imagination and build practical skills.
In the Primary School, the Class Teacher welcomes the children into class 1 and then continues with them throughout the Primary grades building a very strong relationship between teacher, child and parents. This promotes well developed social/emotional resilience and cultivates a healthy feeling life.
High School then focuses increasingly on intellectual and academic achievement. Subjects are presented in a holistic way drawing on numeracy, literacy, geography, history, and science in relation to the real world. These themed ‘main lessons’ are presented daily over a period of three to four weeks allowing in depth study.
Birali is expecting even stronger growth following the move to the permanent site. For 2019 there are currently limited spaces available P-7. Please phone 54290511 to arrange an appointment or book for a school tour.
www.biralisteiner.qld.edu.au
Brand new classroom